Proximity and interest determination by a wireless device

ABSTRACT

A first wireless device determines whether the first wireless device is in a specified proximity to a second wireless device based on a signal wirelessly transmitted by the second wireless device. Based on information transmitted by the second wireless device, it is determined whether the first wireless device shares a common interest with the second wireless device.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/356,284, filedMar. 18, 2019, U.S. Pat. No. 10,531,231, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 15/989,679, filed May 25, 2018, U.S. Pat. Nos.10,237,695, 10,237,965, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.No. 13/750,331, filed Jan. 25, 2013, U.S. Pat. No. 9,986,380, which arehereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

Wireless devices can communicate with each other through a wirelessaccess network. The wireless devices can establish wireless links withthe wireless access network, after which each wireless device cancommunicate data with the wireless access network. Communication of databetween wireless devices can be accomplished by a source wireless devicesending the data to the wireless access network, which then forwards thedata to the destination wireless device.

A different type of wireless communication between wireless devicesinvolves device-to-device (D2D) communication. In a D2D communication,wireless devices that are in sufficiently close proximity to each othercan send data directly to each other, without first sending the data tothe wireless access network. The establishment of a D2D link betweenwireless devices can still be controlled by the wireless access network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some embodiments are described with respect to the following figures:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example network arrangement, accordingto some implementations;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a process of a wireless device, according tosome implementations;

FIGS. 3-7 are message flow diagrams for establishing a device-to-device(D2D) session based on determining proximity and common interest, inaccordance with some implementations;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of a process of performing interest discoveryusing a common interest beacon, according to some implementations;

FIG. 9 is a message flow diagram of a process of monitoring a discoveryresponse resource that provides implicit proximity detection, accordingto further implementations;

FIG. 10 is a message flow diagram of a process of performing interestdiscovery with network assistance; and

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an example system according to someimplementations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A device-to-device (D2D) link wirelessly connects wireless devices toeach other so that the wireless devices can communicate data over theD2D link. D2D links generally provide relatively short range wirelessconnections between wireless devices in relative close proximity to eachother. In some cases, a D2D link may be able to support a highercommunications bandwidth than a bandwidth associated with wirelesscommunications in which data is passed through one or multiple wirelessaccess network nodes. A D2D link may experience asignal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) that is superior to theSINR of a wireless link between a wireless device and a wireless accessnetwork node. Wireless links established with wireless access networknodes may be bandwidth-constrained due to a combination of relativelypoor signal quality and contention for radio resources by a relativelylarge number of wireless devices. Additionally, a D2D link may use alower transmission power than a wireless link established between awireless device and a wireless access network node, thus reducinginter-device interference and allowing for spatial reuse of wirelessresources.

In the ensuing discussion, reference is made to D2D links and otherwireless links that are radio links (which is a wireless link that usessignals in a radio frequency spectrum). In other implementations, D2Dlinks and other wireless links can be established in other frequencyspectrums.

In some implementations, D2D links may utilize the same radio accesstechnology as wireless links established between wireless devices andwireless access network nodes. For example, one such radio accesstechnology is the Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology, as defined bystandards provided by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).The LTE standards are also referred to as the Evolved UniversalTerrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) standards. When using the same radioaccess technology, a wireless device may use one physical radiointerface for both D2D links and wireless links established with thewireless access network. Alternatively, a wireless device may haveseparate physical radio interfaces for the different links.

In other implementations, D2D links can use a radio access technologythat is different from the radio access technology of wireless linksbetween wireless devices and wireless access network nodes.

The establishment of D2D links between wireless devices may be initiatedby a network, and can be based on a determination of proximity ofwireless devices. Establishing D2D links is associated with some amountof overhead at the network (as well as at the wireless devices). Thus,it may not be desirable to establish D2D links between wireless devicesjust because the wireless devices happen to be close to each other.Wireless devices that are in close proximity to each other may not havemuch data to send to each other. Thus, establishing D2D links for suchwireless devices that do not frequently communicate may not beefficient.

In accordance with some implementations, the establishment of a D2D linkbetween wireless devices is based on multiple factors, which can includeat least the following: (1) proximity of wireless devices to each, and(2) whether the wireless devices share a common interest. The sharing ofa common interest increases the likelihood that the wireless deviceswould communicate more data with each other, thereby justifying theoverhead associated with establishing a D2D link between the wirelessdevices.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example network arrangement thatincludes wireless devices WD1 and WD2, which are both capable ofwirelessly communicating with a terrestrial wireless network 102.Examples of wireless devices include mobile telephones, smartphones,personal digital assistants (PDAs), notebook computers, desktopcomputers, game appliances, server computers, storage systems, or anyother devices that are capable of performing wireless communications.The terrestrial wireless network 102 can refer to any network that canmanage the wireless communications with wireless devices within acoverage area or coverage areas of the terrestrial wireless network 102.Although just two wireless devices are depicted in FIG. 1, it is notedthat there can be more than two wireless devices.

In accordance with some implementations, a D2D link 108 can beestablished between the wireless devices WD1 and WD2 based on adetermination of multiple factors, including proximity of the wirelessdevices WD1 and WD2 and whether there exists common interest between thewireless devices. An interest of a wireless device can be expressed byan application running on the wireless device, a user of the wirelessdevice, or by another source. Although FIG. 1 depicts a D2D link 108established between two wireless devices, it is noted that multiple D2Dlinks can be established between respective pairs of wireless devices.

In the example of FIG. 1, the wireless device WD1 includes a proximityand interest determination module 104, which is able to determine theproximity of another wireless device (e.g. WD2) and whether or not thewireless device WD1 shares a common interest with the wireless deviceWD2. The wireless device WD1 also includes D2D logic 106 which cancooperate with the terrestrial wireless network 102 for establishing theD2D link 108 between the wireless devices WD1 and WD2. Although notshown, the wireless device WD2 can similarly include a proximity andinterest determination module and D2D logic.

The terrestrial wireless network 102 includes wireless access networknodes 110, which are able to wirelessly communicate with the wirelessdevices WD1 and WD2. In an LTE network, a wireless access network nodeis an enhanced node B (eNB), which provides base station and basestation controller functionalities. Although the ensuing discussionrefers to LTE communications, it is noted that techniques or mechanismsaccording to some implementations can also be applied with otherwireless access technologies. A wireless access network node canalternatively refer to any of the following: a base station, a node B, awireless local area network/metropolitan area network access point,radio network controller, or any other wireless access controller.

The terrestrial wireless network 102 also includes a packet gateway 112and a mobility management module 114. The mobility management module 114is a control node for performing various control tasks associated withthe terrestrial wireless network 102, such as any one or somecombination of the following: idle node wireless device tracking andpaging, bearer activation and deactivation, handover of a wirelessdevice between wireless access network nodes, authentication of a user,generation and allocation of a temporary identity to a wireless device,and so forth. The packet gateway 112 can route and forward bearer datapackets (e.g. data packets containing voice data or application data) ofa wireless device served by the packet gateway. Although just onemobility management module 114 and packet gateway 112 are depicted inFIG. 1, it is noted that there can be multiple instances of the mobilitymanagement module and the packet gateway in the terrestrial wirelessnetwork 102. In an LTE network, the mobility management module 114 canbe referred to as a mobility management entity (MME), while the packetgateway 112 can include a serving gateway (SGW) and a packet datagateway (PGW).

The terrestrial wireless network 102 can be connected to an externalnetwork 116, such as the Internet, a wide area network, or a local areanetwork. A wireless device can communicate with a network entity on theexternal network 116 through the terrestrial wireless network 102.

In the example of FIG. 1, the wireless device WD2 can transmit aproximity detection signal 118, which can be detected by the wirelessdevice WD1 for the purpose of determining proximity between the wirelessdevices WD1 and WD2. In addition, the wireless device WD2 can sendadvertisement information 120 that can include various items associatedwith the wireless device WD2, which are usable by the wireless deviceWD1 for determining whether or not the wireless device WD1 shares acommon interest with a wireless device WD2. Note that reference tosharing a common interest between wireless devices can refer to sharinginterests of applications of the wireless devices, or interests of usersof the wireless devices, and so forth. An “item” of the advertisementinformation 120 can include any information associated with a wirelessdevice (or an application or user of the wireless device) that may beuseable for ascertaining whether wireless devices share a commoninterest.

The advertisement information 120 can be sent between the wirelessdevices WD2 and WD1 through one or more wireless access network nodes110 (note that the wireless devices WD1 and WD2 may be served bydifferent wireless access network nodes or the same wireless accessnetwork node). Alternatively, the advertisement information 120 can besent directly between the wireless devices WD1 and WD2, without passingthrough any node of the terrestrial wireless network 102.

Although the wireless access network nodes 110 in FIG. 1 are depicted asbeing connected to core network nodes such as the packet gateway 112 andthe mobility management node 114, in other examples, a wireless accessnetwork node can operate in a stand-alone mode with no backhaulconnections to a core network. The stand-alone wireless access networknode can participate in establishing D2D links between wireless deviceswithin the coverage area of the stand-alone wireless access networknode. For example, after a natural disaster or during an emergency,first responder units may wish to communicate amongst members of a team,or between members of different agencies, or with victims of thedisaster—in such scenarios, a wireless access network node may have lostcommunications to a core network, but the wireless access network nodemay nevertheless operate in stand-alone mode to assist in establishingD2D links to enable wireless devices to communicate with each other.

Various example usage scenarios are provided below. In one example, aserver of a retail store can advertise the retail store's offerings towireless devices that come within range of the retail store. A wirelessdevice of a potential customer can match the advertisement informationfrom the server of the retail store with interests of the customerwireless device to determine whether a D2D link should be establishedbetween the server of the retail store and the customer wireless device.

As another example, at a social gathering, a first wireless device canadvertise the identity and/or interests of the associated user to otherwireless devices that come within the range of the first wirelessdevice. A match in interest is determined, then a D2D link can beestablished between the first wireless device and another wirelessdevice.

In a tourist area or a museum, points of interest (or more specifically,servers at the points of interest) can announce themselves to wirelessdevices that come within the range of the points of interest. A customerwireless device can match the announcements with interests of the userof the customer device to determine whether or not a D2D link should beestablished with the respective server of a point of interest.

When on the road, a wireless device attached to a first vehicle canannounce information that the vehicle has collected and stored in therecent travels of the vehicle. Other vehicles that the wireless deviceencounters can determine whether or not the information of the firstvehicle is of interest to the other vehicles, and if so, a D2D link canbe established to retrieve the information.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a process of a wireless device (e.g.wireless device WD1) according to some implementations. The wirelessdevice WD1 can determine (at 202) whether the wireless device WD1 is ina specified proximity to the wireless device WD2, based on the proximitydetection signal 118 wirelessly transmitted by the wireless device WD2.The specified proximity can be indicated if the detected proximitydetection signal satisfies a strength threshold or satisfies any otherspecified criterion.

The wireless device WD1 further receives (at 204) advertisementinformation 120 transmitted by the wireless device WD2, where theadvertisement information 120 can be received either directly from thewireless device WD2 or indirectly through a wireless access network node110, or multiple wireless access network nodes 110.

Next, the wireless device WD1 determines (at 206), based on the receivedadvertisement information 120, whether the wireless device WD1 shares acommon interest with the wireless device WD2.

Note that task 202 can be performed before tasks 204 and 206, oralternatively, tasks 204 and 206 can be performed before task 202. Iftask 202 is performed before tasks 204 and 206, then proximity isdetermined before common interest discovery. On the other hand, if tasks204 and 206 are performed before task 202, then common interestdiscovery is performed before proximity determination.

In response to the determining of the specified proximity and thedetermining of sharing the common interest, the wireless device WD1 canestablish (208) a D2D link with the wireless device WD2.

In other implementations, rather than establishing a D2D link asperformed at 208, the first wireless device can perform a differentaction in response to determining the specified proximity anddetermining the sharing of the common interest.

FIG. 2 depicts an example where the common interest determination(including tasks 204 and 206) is performed at a wireless device. Inother implementations, discussed in connection with FIG. 6, for example,common interest determination for determining whether wireless devicesshare a common interest can be performed by a node of the terrestrialwireless network 102, such as by a wireless access network node 110.

D2D Inter-Device Session Establishment

A session for communicating data between wireless devices over a D2Dlink can be referred to as a D2D inter-device session. Generally,establishment of a D2D inter-device session can involve the followingphases.

A first phase is a Registration phase, in which a D2D-capable wirelessdevice provides the network with the wireless device's identity andother information that may be used in subsequent phases.

A second phase is an Interest Discovery phase. The Interest Discoveryphase determines whether two or more wireless devices share a commoninterest.

A third phase is a Proximity Detection phase, which determines whetherthe wireless devices are within range of each other's transmission andthus would be able to establish a D2D links. Note that the InterestDiscovery phase can be performed before the Proximity Detection phase,or vice versa.

A fourth phase is an Establishment phase, in which D2D radio resourcespecifications are determined and an appropriate set of radio resourcesis assigned to the D2D link for use by the wireless devices.

Subsequently, an Information Exchange phase exchanges data between thecommunicating wireless devices over the D2D links. The informationexchanged may include supervisory signals (e.g. reference signals),control plane messages, and/or user plane messages.

Finally, a Release phase terminates communications over the D2D link andreleases all radio resources committed to the D2D link.

As noted above, in some implementations, a D2D inter-device session canbe initiated based on first performing the Interest Discovery phasefollowed by the Proximity Detection phase. FIG. 3 illustrates an exampleof such a procedure, which includes messages communicated among thewireless device WD1, a node of the terrestrial wireless network 102, andthe wireless device WD2. The node of the terrestrial wireless networkcan be any or some combination of the nodes in the terrestrial wirelessnetwork 102, including the wireless access network nodes 102, packetgateway 112, and mobility management module 114 (FIG. 1).

As shown in FIG. 3, the wireless device WD2 sends (at 302) advertisementinformation (e.g. 120 in FIG. 1) to the terrestrial wireless network102, where the advertisement information includes items associated withthe wireless device WD2 that the wireless device WD2 is willing topublicize to other wireless devices. The items in the advertisementinformation can describe capabilities of the wireless device WD2,information available on or through the wireless device WD2,applications and services offered by or through the wireless device WD2,or identifiers associated with the wireless device WD2. Theadvertisement information may be sent (at 302) directly by the wirelessdevice WD2 to the wireless device WD1 (e.g. the advertisementinformation may be broadcast to other wireless devices). Alternatively,the advertisement information can first be sent by the wireless deviceWD2 to the terrestrial wireless network 102, followed by the terrestrialwireless network 102 sending the advertisement information to thewireless device WD1.

Based on the received advertisement information, the wireless device WD1determines whether the wireless device WD1 shares a common interest withthe wireless device WD2. If so, the wireless device WD1 sends (at 304) adiscovery request to the terrestrial wireless network 102, for thepurpose of ascertaining the proximity of the wireless device WD2. Thediscovery request can identify the advertisement information detected bythe wireless device WD1. In examples where the advertisement informationis broadcast by the wireless device WD2 directly to other wirelessdevices, including the wireless device WD1, the advertisementinformation may also be used by a receiving wireless device as anindication that the wireless device WD2 is in close proximity. In suchan example, the advertisement information 120 is also used as theproximity detection signal 118 (FIG. 1).

In response to receipt of the discovery request, the terrestrialwireless network 102 may send (at 306) instructions to the wirelessdevice WD2, which is the wireless device associated with theadvertisement information identified in the discovery request. Theinstructions can include a proximity signal assignment to cause thewireless device WD2 to begin transmitting a proximity detection signal(e.g. 118 in FIG. 1) that can allow other wireless devices to determinetheir proximity to the wireless device WD2. In some implementations, thewireless device WD2 may be continuously transmitting a proximitydetection signal, in which case the terrestrial wireless network 102would not have to send (at 306) instructions to the wireless device WD2.

In some examples, the proximity detection signal transmitted by thewireless device WD2 may be a signal that is specifically intended foruse in proximity detection. In further examples, an existing referenceor other signal transmitted by the wireless device WD2 may serve as aproximity detection signal.

In response to the discovery request (at 304), the terrestrial wirelessnetwork 102 sends (at 308) a discovery response to the wireless deviceWD1 that includes the identity of the proximity detection signal beingtransmitted by the wireless device WD2. In examples where the wirelessdevice WD2 is continuously transmitting a proximity detection signal,the identity of the proximity detection signal may be included in theadvertisement information sent at 302, or the identity of the proximitydetection signal may be included in an associated broadcast from theterrestrial wireless network 102, which would allow the discoveryrequest and discovery response messages at 304 and 308 to not have to becommunicated.

Once the wireless device WD1 has determined the identity of a proximitydetection signal associated with the advertising wireless device (WD2),the wireless device WD1 tries to detect (at 310) the proximity detectionsignal transmitted by the wireless device WD2. If the wireless device(WD1) is successful in detecting the proximity detection signal from thewireless device WD2, the wireless device WD1 sends an inter-devicesession (IDS) establishment request (312) to the terrestrial wirelessnetwork 102 for establishing a D2D inter-device session between thewireless devices WD1 and WD2. The IDS establishment request may includea channel quality indication derived from the detected proximitydetection signal.

Based on the channel quality indication, the terrestrial wirelessnetwork 102 can determine that the wireless devices are close enough toestablish a D2D link. If so, the terrestrial wireless network 102allocates radio resources, such as uplink radio resources, for the D2Dlink. More specifically, in an LTE network, the terrestrial wirelessnetwork 102 can assign radio resources on the physical uplink sharedchannel (PUSCH) to the D2D inter-device session (IDS). The resourceallocation can be provided in resource allocation messages sent at 314and 316 from the terrestrial wireless network 102. The resourceallocation messages can also include configuration information relatingto the inter-device session, which can be provided to the wirelessdevices WD1 and WD2.

At this point, information can be exchanged (at 318) between thewireless devices WD1 and WD2 in the D2D inter-device session.

In alternative implementations, instead of first performing the InterestDiscovery phase followed by the Proximity Detection phase, a D2Dinter-device session can be initiated based on first performing theProximity Detection phase followed by the Interest Discovery phase, asdepicted in FIG. 4.

In FIG. 4, the terrestrial wireless network 102 sends (at 402)instructions to the wireless device WD2, where the instructions caninclude a proximity signal assignment to cause the wireless device WD2to transmit a proximity detection signal. In some examples, the wirelessdevice WD2 may continuously transmit a proximity detection signal, inwhich case the instructions would not have to be sent at 402.

The wireless device WD1 can detect (at 404) the proximity detectionsignal transmitted by the wireless device WD2. In some examples, thewireless device WD1 can operate in a promiscuous mode, and can becontinually searching for proximity detection signals from otherwireless devices.

To determine whether the wireless device WD1 shares a common interestwith the detected wireless device WD2 (based on detecting the proximitydetection signal transmitted by the wireless device WD2), the wirelessdevice WD1 sends (at 406) a discovery request to the terrestrialwireless network 102, where the discovery request can include theidentity of the detected proximity detection signal. In some examples,the wireless device WD2, may have, during the Registration phasediscussed above, provided the terrestrial wireless network 102 withadvertisement information regarding items publicized by the wirelessdevice WD2. If this advertisement information is already available atthe terrestrial wireless network 102, the terrestrial wireless network102 can send (at 412) a discovery response to the requesting wirelessdevice WD1, which includes the advertisement information provided in aRegistration phase by the wireless device WD2.

However, if the advertisement information was not previously received bythe terrestrial wireless network 102, the terrestrial wireless network102 can send (at 408) an advertisement query to the wireless device WD2,in response to the discovery request (at 406). The advertisement queryis sent to the wireless device associated with the detected proximitydetection signal, which in the FIG. 4 example is the wireless deviceWD2. In response to the advertisement query, the wireless device WD2 cansend (at 410) its advertisement information in an advertisement responseto the terrestrial wireless network 102.

The advertisement information included in the advertisement response canthen be included in the discovery response sent (at 412) to the wirelessdevice WD1.

The remaining tasks 414, 416, 418, and 420 are similar to respectivetasks 312, 314, 316, and 318 in FIG. 3.

In alternative implementations, the flow of FIG. 4 can be modified, tocause the determination of common interest to be performed after theestablishment of the D2D link between the wireless devices WD1 and WD2.This flow is depicted in FIG. 5. In FIG. 5, tasks 402 and 404 are thesame as tasks 402 and 404, respectively, in FIG. 4. After detecting (at404) the proximity detection signal sent by the wireless device WD2, thewireless device WD1 can send (at 414) the IDS establishment request,which causes the performance of tasks 414, 416, 418, and 420 as in FIG.4.

Once the wireless devices WD1 and WD2 are able to communicate with eachother (at 420) over the D2D link, the wireless device WD1 sends (at 502)an advertisement query to the wireless device WD2, over the D2D link. Inresponse, the wireless device WD2 can send (at 504) an advertisementresponse back to the wireless device WD1, where the publication responsecontains the advertisement information of the wireless device WD2.

Identifiers and Handles

In some implementations, each wireless device k is provided with atleast one identifier u_(k) that uniquely identifies the wireless devicewithin a given context. Examples of the identifier of a wireless devicecan include any of the following: an LTE Cell Radio Network TemporaryIdentifier (C-RNTI) (which is an example of a local, temporaryidentifier within the context of a single cell; or international MobileEquipment identity (IMEI) (which is an example of a unique identifierwithin a global context), or any other identifier. In general, awireless device k may be assigned one or more global identifiers u_(k)^(g) and one or more local identifiers u_(k) ^(l); the symbol u_(k) isused throughout this discussion in scenarios where the identifier may beeither global or local.

The determination of whether wireless devices share a common interestcan be based on matching handles. A handle can identify an item that isto be publicized by the wireless device for the purpose of establishingwhether or not wireless devices share a common interest. In suchimplementations, the advertisement information (120 in FIG. 1) sent by awireless device can include the handles (rather than the items).

Two wireless devices are said to have a common interest if a handlepublicized by one wireless device (the provider) is being sought byanother wireless device (the client). In this discussion, a “handle” canrefer to either a handle or a handle reference. A handle reference is acompact form of a handle and may be used instead of a handle, forexample, to reduce the size of a control or broadcast message containingthe handle reference. Note that discovery of a common interest is notlimited to devices that are already known to one another; the solutionsin this document also address discovery of wireless devices that may notbe known a priori.

In some implementations, a wireless device p (WDp) acting as a providerof items of interest is associated with one or more tuples of the form(h_(i), u_(p)), where h_(i) is a handle that identifies an itempertaining to the wireless device. A provider wireless device WDp may beassociated with a set of n handles: {(h_(i), u_(p)), i=1 . . . n}, wheren≥1. A handle h may be associated with a set of m (m≥1) devices or theiridentifiers: {(h, u_(j)), j=1 . . . m}.

A handle may refer to an attribute of the wireless device WDp, orinformation offered by (or through) the wireless device WDp, or anaffiliation (of the user) of the wireless device WDp, or an applicationof the wireless device WDp, or a service offered by (or through) thewireless device WDp, or an identifier associated with (the user of) thewireless device WDp. Some examples of handles include:

-   -   a publicly available user or device identifier such as a Mobile        Station international Subscriber Directory Number (MSISDN), a        Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) uniform resource identifier        (URI), a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), an email address,        or any other identifier;    -   an identifier of an affiliated organization or group;    -   a topic label or tag;    -   a geolocation code;    -   a structured identifier encoded as:        -   a URI string;        -   an Extensible Markup Language (XML) construct;        -   an Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1) construct;        -   and so forth;    -   a Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) hash of a long name or structured        identifier;    -   a bitmap of supported capabilities;    -   a sequence of attributes and their values;    -   an application-specific identifier;    -   an access class; and    -   a device category.

In some implementations, a network may provide a wireless device with ahandle reference that may be used in place of a handle in someinstances. A handle reference is a compact form of a handle.

In some examples, a wireless device may provide the terrestrial wirelessnetwork 102 with a handle h_(i) and may receive a handle reference r_(i)in return; this exchange may occur, for example, using NAS (non-accessstratum) signaling during the Registration phase. NAS signaling isprovided by an NAS entity in a wireless device or a wireless accessnetwork node. The NAS entity provides session management to enableconnectivity between a wireless device and an upper-level layer of awireless access network node, or in the D2D context, between wirelessdevices.

The mapping (h_(i), r_(i)) may be distributed by the terrestrialwireless network 102 to other wireless devices either through abroadcast (e.g. in a System Information Block (SIB), or over aMultimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) channel, or in a dedicatedNAS message, or in another message.

In other implementations, a set of mappings {h_(i), r_(i)}, i=1, . . . ,may be contained in a dictionary or other data structure that ispreconfigured into a wireless device, or downloaded to a wirelessdevice, or queried by the wireless device.

While a handle h_(i) may have a broad (possibly global) scope, the scopeof a handle reference r_(i) may be constrained; for example, a givenreference r_(i) may only be valid within a single wireless accessnetwork.

The terrestrial wireless network 102 can request and maintaininformation to match wireless devices that publicize a handle withwireless devices that are seeking that handle. A wireless device maysend a query to the terrestrial wireless network 102 regarding thepresence of another wireless device, with a corresponding handle ofinterest. Handle announcements can be transmitted by the terrestrialwireless network 102 to wireless devices or directly by a wirelessdevice to indicate that a wireless device has an interest in a handle.The presence of one or more wireless devices with an interest in ahandle or a group of handles may be indicated by the one or morewireless devices.

Proximity Detection Resources

Proximity detection signals may be used to perform two forms ofproximity detection: (1) beaconing is a process in which a wirelessdevice (WD1) unilaterally announces its presence through thetransmission of a proximity detection signal; and (2) ranging is aprocess in which a wireless device (WD1) explicitly looks for theproximity detection signal of another wireless device (WD2)—ranging maybe mutual with WD2 explicitly looking for the proximity detection signalof WD1.

In some examples, beaconing may be based on a proximity detection signalthat is assigned to a particular wireless device; in otherimplementations, beaconing may be based on a proximity detection signalthat is shared amongst a number of wireless devices.

In further examples, ranging may be based on a proximity detectionsignal that is assigned to a particular wireless device. Ranging mayutilize proximity detection signals used exclusively for proximitydetection, or ranging may utilize signals that have multiple purposes,or ranging may utilize signals that have another purpose and are usedopportunistically for proximity detection. For example, a signal usedfor ranging may also allow a receiving wireless device to measure thequality of a received transmission and, optionally, to provide feedbackto the transmitting wireless device; such measurements can then be usedto govern subsequent transmissions between the wireless devices.

In some examples, a proximity detection signal may not contain anyinformation that can be used to directly identify the wireless devicethat is transmitting the signal. As such, the proximity detection signalin these examples may be used only to determine that the transmittingwireless device is in close proximity to a detecting wireless device.

In such examples, a decision on whether to establish a D2D link may betaken based on other information that is available to the detectingwireless device; for example, the proximity detection signal may bematched to information supplied by the terrestrial wireless network 102(discussed further below).

In other examples, a decision on whether to continue communicating in aD2D link may be made by a higher-layer entity in the wireless devicesafter the D2D link has been established and qualifying information hasbeen exchanged between the wireless devices (discussed further below).

In other implementations, a wireless device identifier u_(k), or ahandle h_(i), or a handle reference r_(i) may be encoded in a proximitydetection signal, which allows the proximity detection signal to be usedfor both common interest and proximity detection.

In some implementations, a wireless device may transmit its proximitydetection signal over a specific set of radio resources. The combinationof a proximity detection signal and its associated radio resources canbe referred to as a proximity detection resource (PDR). A proximitydetection resource used by a wireless device may employ some combinationof frequency, time and code multiplexing.

A wireless device can monitor one or more proximity detection resourcesto determine whether the wireless device has detected a proximitydetection signal transmitted by another wireless device. A wirelessdevice can also monitor a specified proximity detection resource todetermine whether the wireless device can receive a common proximitydetection signal (beacon) that may be simultaneously transmitted by oneor more other wireless devices.

Alternatively, a first wireless device can monitor a radio resource thathas been configured for use in a response to be transmitted by anotherwireless device as part of a discovery procedure (which is a procedureperformed to allow one wireless device to detect close proximity ofanother wireless device). If the first wireless device can detectsignaling in the monitored radio resource, then such signaling serves asan implicit proximity detection signal. As another example, a wirelessdevice can monitor a specific proximity detection resource provided bythe terrestrial wireless network 102 to determine whether the wirelessdevice can receive a proximity detection signal being transmitted by aspecific wireless device.

Network-Based Interest Matching

In the foregoing discussion, reference is made to a wireless deviceperforming the Interest Discovery phase for determining whether wirelessdevices share a common interest. In alternative implementations, thedetermination of whether wireless devices share a common interest caninstead be performed at the terrestrial wireless network 102, such as bythe wireless access network node 110 or by any other node in theterrestrial wireless network 102.

In some implementations, the terrestrial wireless network 102 maymaintain a cache of handles publicized by wireless devices as well as acache of handles being sought by wireless devices within the terrestrialwireless network's coverage area(s). A cache can refer to any storagemedium (or storage media) that is used to store information. Theterrestrial wireless network 102 may use this cache to identify wirelessdevices that may have a common interest.

In some examples, a handle (or set of handles) may be supplied to theterrestrial wireless network 102 by a wireless device using NASsignaling during the Registration phase. In other examples, a wirelessdevice may update the handle (or set of handles) after the Registrationphase by sending a NAS message on its uplink to the terrestrial wirelessnetwork; this update may, for example, be the result of an action of anapplication running on the wireless device, or of input from the user,or of a change in location of the wireless device. The handle (or set ofhandles) that is supplied or updated may correspond to handle(s) beingpublicized or handle(s) being sought by the wireless device.

In some implementations, a wireless device may use NAS signaling toprovide the terrestrial wireless network 102 with policies that governwhich wireless devices may be considered by the terrestrial wirelessnetwork when determining common interests. In other examples, thosepolicies may be provided to the terrestrial wireless network 102 throughoperator configuration.

FIG. 6 depicts an example process for performing the Interest Discoveryphase at the terrestrial wireless network 102. The wireless device (WD1)may send (at 602) a message (e.g. NAS message or another message, suchas a message sent during the Registration phase) containing a HandleInterest Indication on the uplink to the terrestrial wireless network102. The Handle Interest Indication may contain a set of handle(s),being publicized by the wireless device WD1. Additionally, the HandleInterest Indication may also or alternatively contain a set ofhandle(s), {h_(s) ¹}, being sought by the wireless device WD1. Thecontent of either set {h_(p) ¹} or {h_(s) ¹} may be empty, which wouldindicate that the wireless device WD1 is not, respectively, publicizingany handles or seeking any handles.

The terrestrial wireless network 102 can store (at 604) the handle(s),if any, contained in the Handle Interest Indication (602) in a cache atthe terrestrial wireless network 102.

Another wireless device (WD2) may send (at 606) a Handle InterestIndication (using an NAS message or a message of the Registration phase,for example) containing a set of handle(s), {h_(p) ²}, being publicizedby WD2 and a set of handle(s), {h_(s) ²}, being sought by the wirelessdevice WD2.

Using its cache, the terrestrial wireless network 102 performs (at 608)a handle match to determine whether any of the handle(s) beingpublicized by WD2 are being sought by other wireless devices (e.g. WD1),and whether any of the handle(s) being sought by WD2 are beingpublicized by other wireless devices (e.g. WD1).

For example, the terrestrial wireless network 102 may determine that WD1and WD2 have a common interest if one or more handles publicized by WD1are being sought by WD2—i.e. {h_(p) ¹} ∩ {h_(s) ²}={h₁₂} ≠ ∅.

Similarly, the terrestrial wireless network 102 may determine that WD1and WD2 have a common interest if one or more handles publicized by WD2are being sought by WD1—i.e. {h_(p) ²} ∩ {h_(s) ¹}={h₂₁} ≠ ∅.

If the terrestrial wireless network 102 finds a non-empty set ofmatching handles {h₁₂} and/or {h₂₁} in the handle match performed at608, the terrestrial wireless network 102 may assign proximity detectionresources to the wireless devices WD1 and WD2, respectively, usingdedicated AS (access stratum) radio resource configuration messages(e.g. radio resource control (RRC) messages or medium access control(MAC) control elements). In addition, the terrestrial wireless network102 can instruct (at 610, 612) the wireless devices WD1 and WD2 to beginproximity detection (at 614) in preparation for a D2D inter-devicesession.

In some examples, the network may also provide the wireless devices withthe non-empty set of matching handles {h₁₂} and/or {h₂₁} thatprecipitated the proximity detection.

Wireless Device Interest Discovery Before Proximity Detection

Instead of performing network-performed interest discovery, thedetermination of common interest can be performed at a wireless device,such as wireless device WD1 in FIG. 7, in a procedure in which theInterest Discovery phase is performed before the Proximity Detectionphase. In some examples, the wireless device (WD1) may know a handle h₂associated with wireless device (WD2) but may not know whether thewireless device WD2 is currently within range of WD1's transmissions.

As shown in FIG. 7, the interrogating wireless device (WD1) may send (at702) a Handle Resolution Request message on the uplink to theterrestrial wireless network 102. The request contains the handle beinginterrogated (e.g. h₂).

In some implementations, the terrestrial wireless network 102 maymaintain a cache of handles publicized by the wireless devices withinits coverage area(s). If the terrestrial wireless network 102 finds ahandle matching h₂ in its cache, in a handle match process (at 704), thefollowing may be performed:

-   -   If the matching handle is associated with one or more wireless        devices (e.g. WD2) that are in a connected state (i.e. actively        exchanging information with the terrestrial wireless network        102), then the terrestrial wireless network 102 may provide (at        714) a positive Handle Resolution Response message to the        wireless device WD1 (tasks 706, 708, 710, and 712 can be        skipped).    -   If the matching handle is associated with one or more wireless        devices that are not in a connected state (i.e. not actively        exchanging information with the network) then:        -   in some examples, the terrestrial wireless network 102 may            initiate paging (at 706) of the target wireless device(s).        -   If the terrestrial wireless network 102 receives a response            to its page, then the terrestrial wireless network 102 may            provide (at 714) a positive Handle Resolution Response            message to the wireless device WD1 (while skipping tasks            708, 710, and 712).

If the terrestrial wireless network does not maintain a handle cache, orif the terrestrial wireless network does not find a matching handle inits cache, or if the wireless device(s) associated with a matchinghandle is not in a connected state and the wireless device(s) do(es) notrespond to the page sent at 706, then the terrestrial wireless network102 may broadcast (at 708) a Handle Resolution Order message to multiplewireless devices in the coverage area of the terrestrial wirelessnetwork 102. The Handle Resolution Order message can be sent in aportion of the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) referenced by apre-configured Radio Network Temporary identities (RNTI) (this RNTI isreferred to as a Handle Resolution RNTI, HR-RNTI) in a Downlink ControlInformation (DCI) of the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). Thisis similar to the Paging Control Channel (PCCH) mechanism used in LTE topage a wireless device using the wireless device's international mobilesubscriber identity (IMSI).

In some examples, the Handle Resolution Order message may includeproximity detection resource configuration parameters to be used by thetarget wireless device (WD2).

Wireless devices that support handle resolution monitor the PDCCH forthe HR-RNTI and may retrieve the handle(s) contained in thecorresponding Handle Resolution Order. If a wireless device (WD2) thatis monitoring the HR-RNTI detects a handle that matches one of WD2'spublicized handle(s), the wireless device WD2 may provide (at 710) anOrder Response message (e.g. with WD2's C-RNTI) to the terrestrialwireless network 102 using an uplink resource that either is explicitlyscheduled by the terrestrial wireless network 102 or is tied to theHandle Resolution Order message in a predetermined manner.

In some examples, the Handle Resolution Order message may also include adedicated preamble or a preamble partition to be used by a targetwireless device (WD2) when responding to the Handle Resolution Ordermessage via a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH).

If the terrestrial wireless network 102 receives one or more responsesto its Handle Resolution Order message, the following can be performed:

-   -   In some examples, the terrestrial wireless network 102 may send        (at 712) a proximity signal assignment to cause the wireless        device WD2 to begin transmitting a proximity detection signal.        The terrestrial wireless network may also return (at 714) a        positive acknowledgement, in the form of a Handle Resolution        Response, to the interrogating wireless device (WD1), which may        include proximity detection resource configuration parameters to        be used by the wireless device WD1 as well a list of proximity        detection signals used by wireless devices (including WD2)        publicizing the requested handle (h₂). The wireless devices WD1        and WD2 may then begin proximity detection (at 716) in        preparation for a D2D inter-device session.    -   In other examples, the wireless device WD1 may directly monitor        the uplink resource allocated for responses to the Handle        Resolution Order message; if the wireless device WD1 detects a        response to its Handle Resolution Request (702), the wireless        device WD1 can deduce that a target wireless device (WD2) is in        close proximity. The wireless device WD1 may then send a request        to the terrestrial wireless network 102 for the establishment of        a D2D inter-device session based on reception of the response        from WD2.    -   In further examples, the terrestrial wireless network 102 may        assign proximity detection resources and instruct the wireless        device WD1 and all wireless devices (including WD2) publicizing        the requested handle (h₂) to begin proximity detection (at 718)        in preparation for a D2D inter-device session. Initiation of        proximity detection is deemed by the wireless device WD1 to be        an implicit positive acknowledgement to its Handle Resolution        Request (702). In variants of this example, additional        information regarding the wireless device WD1 (such as its        identifier or capabilities) may be included in the message to        the wireless device WD2 (and to all other wireless devices        publicizing h₂); this may allow the wireless device WD2 to        decide, for example, whether to advertise its presence to the        wireless device WD1 or to hide its proximity from the wireless        device WD1.        -   In other examples, the terrestrial wireless network 102 may            assign a Common Proximity Beacon (discussed further below)            to all wireless devices (including WD2) publicizing the            requested handle (h₂) and instruct the wireless device WD1            to begin proximity detection (at 718) in preparation for a            D2D inter-device session. Initiation of proximity detection            is deemed by the wireless device WD1 to be an implicit            positive acknowledgement to its query.

Handle Announcement

In some implementations, the handle(s) publicized by a wireless devicemay be broadcast to other wireless devices in the vicinity of thetransmitting wireless device through advertisement information containedin a Handle Announcement Channel (HACH). Similarly, the handle(s) soughtby a wireless device may be broadcast to other wireless devices in thevicinity of the transmitting wireless device through advertisementinformation contained in a HACH.

In some implementations, one or more Handle Announcement Channels may beconfigured within the D2D radio resources (e.g. resources of the LTEPUSCH) by the terrestrial wireless network 102. An HACH configurationmay be broadcast (e.g. in a System Information Block, SIB) or containedin a dedicated AS radio resource configuration message (e.g. an RRCmessage or a MAC control element). In other implementations, HandleAnnouncement Channels may be dynamically scheduled within the D2D radioresources by the terrestrial wireless network 102 using a pre-configuredRNTI (the Handle Announcement RNTI, HA-RNTI, discussed above), such asin a DCI of the PDCCH.

In further examples, advertisement information may be categorized andeach category of advertisement information may be assigned to a specificHACH or set of HACHs; the assignments may be broadcast by theterrestrial wireless network (e.g. in a SIB), or configured through adedicated AS radio resource configuration message, or preconfigured intoa wireless device. In other examples, advertisement information may notbe categorized and may be assigned to a HACH (from among multiple HACHs)based, for example, on current system load and the resourcespecifications of the announcement.

An Interest Discovery phase using information sent in a HACH may use thefollowing example process. In some examples, an announcing device (e.g.WD1) may send a Handle Announcement Request on the uplink to theterrestrial wireless network 102. The Handle Announcement Request mayinclude a category of the advertisement information, the desiredperiodicity of the announcement of the advertisement information, thenumber of repetitions of the announcement, and/or the timeframe overwhich the announcement is to be made.

In other examples, the wireless device WD1 may send the HandleAnnouncement Request to the terrestrial wireless network 102 during theRegistration phase.

When the requested announcement has been scheduled, the terrestrialwireless network 102 may send a transmission grant to the wirelessdevice WD1; if a periodic announcement has been requested by WD1, thetransmission grant may take the form of a semi-persistent schedulinggrant. For example, the DCI for the transmission grant can reference oneof the Handle Announcement Channels previously configured by thenetwork.

At the scheduled time, the wireless device WD1 may transmit a handleover the allocated HACH along with an indication of whether the handleis being publicized or sought. Other wireless devices that areinterested in receiving handle announcements may use the HACHinformation, configured via a broadcast message (e.g. in a SIB), orthrough a dedicated AS radio resource configuration message, or signaledvia the HA-RNTI, to monitor transmissions on the Handle AnnouncementChannels.

In some examples, the handle announcement may also include the proximitydetection resource used by the wireless device WD1.

If a wireless device (WD2) detects a handle announcement in which thewireless device WD2 is interested, the wireless device WD2 may respondto the terrestrial wireless network 102 (e.g. with its C-RNTI) using anuplink resource that either is explicitly scheduled by the terrestrialwireless network 102 or is tied to the Handle Announcement Request in apredetermined manner.

In some examples, the terrestrial wireless network 102 may then assignproximity detection resources and instruct the wireless devices WD1 andWD2 to begin proximity detection in preparation for a D2D inter-devicesession.

In other examples, the wireless device WD1 may directly monitor atransmission resource allocated by the terrestrial wireless network 102for responses to announcements made on the HACH; if the wireless deviceWD1 detects a response to its announcement, the wireless device WD1 candeduce that an interested device (WD2) is in close proximity. Thewireless device WD1 may then send a request to the terrestrial wirelessnetwork 102 for the establishment of a D2D inter-device session.

In other examples where the handle announcement includes the proximitydetection resource currently being used by the wireless device WD1, thewireless device WD2 may determine the proximity of the wireless deviceWD1 by monitoring transmissions on the proximity detection resource.

Handle Broadcast

In further implementations, the handle(s) publicized by a wirelessdevice may be broadcast by the terrestrial wireless network 102 to allwireless devices through a Handle Broadcast Channel (HBCH).

One or more Handle Broadcast Channels may be configured by theterrestrial wireless network 102. The HBCH configuration may bebroadcast (e.g. in a System Information Block, SIB) or contained in anAS radio resource configuration message (e.g. an RRC message or a MACcontrol element). In another example, Handle Broadcast Channels may bedynamically scheduled within the D2D radio resources by the terrestrialwireless network 102 using a pre-configured RNTI (the Handle BroadcastRNTI, HB-RNTI) in a DCI of the PDCCH. In other examples, a HBCH may beincorporated into an MBMS channel.

In some examples, announcements may be categorized and each category ofadvertisement information may be assigned to a specific HBCH or set ofHBCHs. The assignments may be broadcast by a network (e.g. in a SIB), orconfigured through a dedicated AS radio resource configuration message,or pre-configured into a wireless device. In other examples,announcements may not be categorized and may be assigned to a HBCHbased, for example, on current system load and the resource requirementsof the announcement.

Interest Discovery via a HBCH may involve the following process.

In some examples, an announcing wireless device (e.g. WD1) may send aHandle Announcement Request on the uplink to the terrestrial wirelessnetwork 102. The Handle Announcement Request may include a handle, anindication of whether the handle is being publicized or sought, acategory of the advertisement information, the desired periodicity ofthe announcement, the number of repetitions of the announcement, and/orthe timeframe over which the announcements will be made.

In other examples, the wireless device WD1 may provide the terrestrialwireless network 102 with its Handle Announcement Request during theRegistration phase.

When the requested announcement has been scheduled, the terrestrialwireless network 102 broadcasts the handle over a corresponding HBCH. Insome examples, for each handle announcement, the terrestrial wirelessnetwork 102 may also include the proximity detection resource used bythe wireless device associated with that announcement.

If a wireless device (e.g. WD2) detects a handle announcement in whichthe wireless device WD2 is interested, the following may be performed.

In some examples, the wireless device WD2 may send an IDS establishmentrequest (discussed above) to the terrestrial wireless network 102; theterrestrial wireless network 102 may then assign proximity detectionresources and instruct the wireless devices WD1 and WD2 to beginproximity detection in preparation for a D2D inter-device session.

In other examples, using the proximity detection resource information ofthe wireless device WD1 obtained from the handle announcement, thewireless device WD2 may monitor the proximity detection signal of thewireless device WD1 to determine whether the wireless device WD1 iswithin range.

In some implementations, the wireless device WD1 may send a HandleAnnouncement Cancellation Request on the uplink to the terrestrialwireless network 102 to terminate the handle announcement broadcast whenthe wireless device WD1 is no longer seeking wireless devices with acommon interest in a specific handle.

Monitoring of Common Interest Beacons

In some implementations, sets of handles or other groupings are definedand a common proximity detection resource (beacon) is assigned to eachgrouping. As a result, the number of dedicated proximity detectionresources (assigned to respective wireless devices) may be reduced.

A wireless device that is searching for potential partners within aparticular grouping may monitor the Common Interest Beacon associatedwith that grouping and, if the wireless device detects a proximitydetection signal, the wireless device can deduce that there is at leastone other wireless device in proximity that is affiliated with thatgrouping.

An Interest Discovery phase using a common interest beacon may involvethe tasks associated with FIG. 8, for example.

In some examples the terrestrial wireless network 102 may distribute, toone or more wireless devices, a list of tuples of the form (z_(i),g_(k)) where z_(i) is a proximity detection resource and g_(k) is agrouping of interest that is known to the wireless devices. In someexamples, the terrestrial wireless network 102 may also distribute alist of tuples of the form (h_(j), g_(k)), where h_(j) is a handle (orits associated handle reference r_(j)) and g_(k) is the grouping thatencompassing the handle. The list of tuples {(h_(j), g_(k))}, or thelist of tuples {(z_(i), g_(k))}, or both, may be distributed by theterrestrial wireless network 102 to wireless devices either through abroadcast message (e.g. in a System Information Block (SIB) or over anMBMS channel) or in a dedicated AS radio resource configuration message.

The wireless device (e.g. WD1) with an interest in a particular handleh_(x) may use the distributed information to determine (at 802) whethera matching grouping can be found for h_(x); in other words, the wirelessdevice WD1 determines whether it has previously received the tuple(h_(x), g_(n)) from the terrestrial wireless network 102. Alternatively,the wireless device WD1 may derive the grouping of interest g_(n)through some other mechanism. If a match is found (at 802), the wirelessdevice WD1 may then use the distributed information to determine (at804) a matching proximity detection resource z_(m) for the groupingg_(n), as determined from the tuple (z_(m), g_(n)). This matchingproximity detection resource z_(m) can be used for transmitting, by thewireless device WD1, a beacon to proximate wireless devices with asimilar interest.

However, if the wireless device WD1 is unable to match (at 802) thehandle h_(x) to any grouping, then the wireless device WD1 may send (at806) a Proximity Detection Resource Request on the uplink to theterrestrial wireless network 102. The Proximity Detection ResourceRequest may include the handle h_(x) (or its associated handle referencer_(x)), an indication of whether the handle is being publicized orsought, or a category of advertisement information. In response, theterrestrial wireless network 102 may provide the proximity detectionresource z_(m) associated with the grouping that encompasses thespecified handle h_(x). This proximity detection resource z_(m) isreceived (at 808) by the wireless device 108.

The proximity detection resource z_(m) may then be used by the wirelessWD1 to transmit a beacon to proximate wireless devices with a similarinterest.

In some examples, the wireless device (e.g. WD1) may wish to findproximate wireless devices with a common interest. A similar process asdepicted tasks 802, 804, 806, and 808 can be performed.

In some examples, the wireless device WD1 with an interest in aparticular handle h_(x) may determine (at 802) if the handle can bematched to a respective grouping. If a match is determined, then thedistributed tuples from the terrestrial wireless network 102 can be usedto determine (at 804) a matching proximity detection resource from thetuple (z_(m), g_(n)).

However, if the handle h_(x) cannot be matched (at 802) to a respectivegrouping, then the wireless device WD1 can send (at 806) a PDR Requeston the uplink to the terrestrial wireless network 102, where the requestcontains the handle h_(x) (or its associated handle reference r_(x)) ora category of the advertisement information. In response, theterrestrial wireless network 102 may provide the proximity detectionresource z_(m) to be monitored, which is received (at 808).

If a searching wireless device (WD1) detects (at 810) the proximitydetection signal in the resource z_(m), the following can be performed.The wireless device WD1 can send (at 812) a Beacon Reception Indicationto the terrestrial wireless network 102 along with the identity of theproximity detection resource z_(m) where the signal was detected. Theterrestrial wireless network 102 may assign a dedicated proximitydetection resource z_(d) to the wireless device WD1 (and to each of theother wireless devices sharing the resource z_(m)), and instruct thewireless device WD1 to begin monitoring transmissions on the dedicatedproximity detection resource z_(d) in preparation for a D2D inter-devicesession. The dedicated proximity detection resource z_(d) and theinstruction are received (at 814).

The terrestrial wireless network 102 may also assign another dedicatedproximity detection resource z_(t) to the wireless device WD1 to use fortransmitting a beacon. The terrestrial wireless network 102 may instructother wireless devices to begin monitoring transmissions on thededicated proximity detection resource z_(t) of the wireless device WD1in preparation for a D2D inter-device session.

If the wireless device WD1 detects (at 816) a proximity detection signalin the dedicated proximity detection resource z_(d), then the wirelessdevice WD1 determines (at 818) that another wireless device sharing acommon interest is in range. If the proximity detection signal in thededicated proximity detection resource z_(d) is not detected, then thewireless device determines (at 820) that another wireless device sharinga common interest is not in range.

On-Demand Proximity Detection Signal Transmission and Detection

In further implementations, the terrestrial wireless network 102 mayassign a unique proximity detection signal to each wireless deviceduring the Registration phase. One wireless device (WD1) may know ahandle h₂ associated with one or more other wireless devices (includingWD2) but may not know whether any of those Devices are currently withinrange of its transmissions. To determine the proximity of the one ormore other wireless devices, the wireless WD1 may send a request to theterrestrial wireless network 102 to enable on-demand transmission ofproximity detection signals from the wireless device(s) publicizing h₂.

An Interest Discovery phase that uses on-demand proximity detectionsignal transmissions may involve the following example process.

The interrogating wireless device (WD1) may send a Proximity ResolutionRequest on the uplink to the terrestrial wireless network 102. TheProximity Resolution Request contains the handle, h₂, being interrogated(or its associated handle reference r₂).

In some examples, the terrestrial wireless network 102 may maintain acache of handles publicized by the wireless devices within theterrestrial wireless network's coverage area. If the terrestrialwireless network 102 finds the handle h₂ in its cache, then theterrestrial wireless network 102 may instruct the wireless devicespublicising h₂ (including WD2) to begin transmitting their proximitydetection signals. This instruction may be included in a broadcastmessage or in a dedicated AS message (e.g. an RRC message or a MACcontrol element).

If the terrestrial wireless network 102 does not maintain a handlecache, or if the terrestrial wireless network 102 does not find handleh₂ in its cache, then the terrestrial wireless network 102 may broadcasta Proximity Resolution Order in a region of the PDSCH referenced by apre-configured RNTI (the Proximity Resolution RNTI, PR-RNTI) in a DCI ofthe PDCCH.

In some examples, the Proximity Resolution Order may include the timingand the duration of a subsequent proximity detection signaltransmission.

Wireless devices that support on-demand proximity detection signaltransmissions monitor the PDCCH for the PR-RNTI and may retrieve the(list of) handle(s) contained in the corresponding Proximity ResolutionOrder. If a wireless device (e.g. WD2) that is monitoring the PR-RNTIdetects a handle that matches one of its publicized handle(s), thewireless device WD2 may begin to transmit its assigned proximitydetection signal either in a predetermined manner or using the timingand duration information contained in the Proximity Resolution Order.

Once the terrestrial wireless network 102 has initiated transmission ofthe proximity detection signals, the terrestrial wireless network 102may return a Proximity Resolution Response to the interrogating wirelessdevice (WD1) that may include the identity, timing and the duration ofthe subsequent transmissions of proximity detection signals by wirelessdevices (including WD2) publicizing the requested handle (h₂).

In other examples, the wireless device WD1 may directly monitor thePDCCH for a DCI encoded with the PR-RNTI and decode the ProximityResolution Order to determine the timing and the duration of thesubsequent proximity detection signal transmissions.

Discovery of Proximity Before Interest

To discover proximity before interest, a wireless device (e.g. WD1),operating in a promiscuous mode, searches for proximity detectionsignals being transmitted by any other proximate wireless device. Once aproximity detection signal transmitted by a proximate wireless device(e.g. WD2) has been discovered, ancillary communications are performedto determine whether the wireless devices WD1 and WD2 have a commoninterest.

In some implementations, proximity detection resources may be allocatedfrom within a set of radio resources, which make up a proximitydetection resource group (PDRG) that is known to the wireless devices.In some examples, one or more proximity detection resource groups may beconfigured by the terrestrial wireless network 102 within the set of D2Dradio resources (e.g. the LTE PUSCH); in other examples, one or moreproximity detection resource groups may be configured by the terrestrialwireless network 102 within a set of dedicated radio resources (e.g. anIDS PUCCH).

In one example, PDRG configurations may be broadcast to all wirelessdevices (e.g. in a System Information Block, SIB); in another example,PDRG configurations may be contained in an AS radio resourceconfiguration message sent to a specific wireless device (e.g. an RRCmessage or a MAC control element). In other examples, proximitydetection resource groups may be dynamically scheduled within the D2Dradio resources by the terrestrial wireless network 102 using apre-configured RNTI (referred to as a Proximity Detection Resource RNTI,PDR-RNTI) in a DCI of the PDCCH. In further examples, the PDRGinformation may be configured into a wireless device throughstandardization, operator implementation, or other mechanisms.

In some implementations, proximity detection via PDRG monitoring mayinvolve the following process.

Once the wireless device WD1 has been allocated a proximity detectionresource, the wireless device WD1 may announce its presence bytransmitting its proximity detection signal over the designated radioresources within a PDRG.

In some examples, the proximity detection resource z_(m) to be used bythe wireless device WD1 is assigned to the wireless device by theterrestrial wireless network 102 via a dedicated AS radio resourceconfiguration message.

Other wireless devices that are interested in detecting proximatewireless devices may use the PDRG information configured via a broadcastor dedicated AS message or signalled via the PDR-RNTI to monitorproximity detection signal transmissions in a proximity detectionresource group.

If a wireless device (e.g. WD2) detects a proximity detection signal, insome examples, the wireless device WD2 may request assistance from theterrestrial wireless network 102 to determine if the wireless device WD2and the discovered wireless device (WD1) have a common interest beforeestablishing a D2D link.

In other examples, the wireless device WD2 may initiate a D2Dinter-device session with the discovered wireless device (WD1) anddetermine whether they have a common interest after establishing a D2Dlink.

Monitoring of Common Proximity Beacons

In some implementations, proximity detection may be based on commonproximity detection signals (beacons) that may be simultaneouslytransmitted by multiple wireless devices. As a result, the number ofdedicated proximity detection resources may be reduced in suchimplementations.

In these implementations, the proximity detection signal does notcontain information that is sufficient for directly identifying awireless device that is transmitting the signal. As such, the proximitydetection signal in these implementations may be used only to determinethat at least one of the transmitting wireless devices is in closeproximity to a receiver.

Proximity detection via a proximity detection beacon may involve thefollowing.

The set of common proximity detection resources {z_(i)} available towireless devices may be signalled by the network either through abroadcast (e.g. in a SIB) or in a dedicated AS radio resourceconfiguration message (e.g. an RRC message or a MAC control element).

The wireless device (WD1) that wishes to announce its presence acquiresa common proximity detection resource and begins transmitting itsproximity detection signal over the common proximity detection resource.Note that other wireless devices may also be contemporaneouslyannouncing their presence using the common proximity detection resource.

In some examples, the proximity detection resource z_(m) to be used bythe wireless device WD1 is assigned to the wireless device by theterrestrial wireless network 102 via a dedicated AS radio resourceconfiguration message.

In other examples, the proximity detection resource z_(m) is randomlyselected by the wireless device WD1 from the set of proximity detectionresources {z_(i)} made available by the terrestrial wireless network102.

Other wireless devices that are interested in detecting proximatewireless devices may monitor the set of common proximity detectionresources {z_(i)} configured by the terrestrial wireless network 102.

If an interested wireless device (WD2) detects a signal on a commonproximity detection resource z_(m), the wireless device WD2 may send aBeacon Reception Indication to the terrestrial wireless network 102along with the identity of the proximity detection resource in which thesignal was detected. In some examples, a wireless device may beconfigured to listen to all beacon signals and to report all beaconsthat the wireless device detects. In other examples, a wireless devicemay be configured to listen to only a subset of the beacon signals andto report only those beacons if they are detected.

In some examples, a wireless device may be configured to report beaconsignals as they are detected. In other examples, a wireless device maybe configured to report detected beacons only at prescribed intervals.

If the detected proximity detection resource z_(m) was randomly selectedby a wireless device, the terrestrial wireless network 102 may broadcasta Handle Resolution Order to learn the identity of the transmittingwireless device(s) using that resource.

The terrestrial wireless network 102 may assign dedicated proximitydetection resources to each of the wireless devices sharing theindicated beacon (including WD1) and instruct them to begin transmittingtheir dedicated proximity detection signals.

The terrestrial wireless network 102 may send a Beacon ReceptionResponse to the wireless device WD2 that includes the proximitydetection resources assigned to the beaconing wireless devices, allowingthe wireless device WD2 to monitor transmissions from those wireless(including WD1) in preparation for a D2D inter-device session.

If the wireless device WD2 detects a dedicated proximity detectionsignal, the wireless device WD2 may request assistance from the networkto determine if the wireless device WD2 and the discovered wireless(WD1) have a common interest before establishing a D2D link.

In other examples, the wireless device WD2 may initiate a D2Dinter-device session with the discovered wireless device (WD1) anddetermine whether they have a common interest after establishing a D2Dlink.

Monitoring a Discovery Response Channel

Some discovery procedures may include a response from a wireless device(e.g. WD2) that is a candidate for a D2D inter-device session. In theseimplementations, the response from the wireless device WD2 may be usedas an implicit proximity detection signal—i.e. any other wireless device(WD1) that can detect the response may be deemed a proximate wirelessdevice. For example, the example procedure described in FIG. 9 may beused.

A wireless device (e.g. WD1) may send (at 902) a request, such as aHandle Resolution Request, on the uplink to the terrestrial wirelessnetwork 102. The Handle Resolution Request may include the handle thatis of interest to the wireless device WD1. The handle in the HandleResolution Request may be cached (at 904) by the terrestrial wirelessnetwork 102.

The wireless device WD1 may monitor a downlink channel to detect are-broadcast (at 906) of its query (e.g. in the form of a HandleResolution Order) by the terrestrial wireless network 102 to otherwireless devices in the coverage area. In some examples, the broadcastfrom the terrestrial wireless network 102 may be transmitted over apreconfigured broadcast channel; in other examples, the broadcast may bea transmission that is dynamically scheduled using a pre-configured RNTI(e.g. the Handle Resolution RNTI, HR-RNTI).

Once the wireless device WD1 has detected the re-broadcast (at 906) ofits query, the wireless device WD1 may then attempt to detect (at 912) aresponse to its query sent (at 910) from a proximate wireless device tothe terrestrial wireless network 102. This detection (at 912) isreferred to as overhearing.

In some examples, the radio resources to be used for the uplink response(910) may be configured by the terrestrial wireless network 102 eitherthrough a broadcast (e.g. in a System Information Block, SIB) or in adedicated AS radio resource configuration message (e.g. an RRC messageor a MAC control element).

In other examples, the radio resources to be used for the uplinkresponse (910) may be derived from the downlink radio resources used tobroadcast the request. In further examples, the radio resources to beused for the uplink response may be explicitly scheduled by theterrestrial wireless network 102 (e.g. in a DCI of the PDCCH).

Interest Discovery with Network Assistance

As depicted in FIG. 10, after a wireless device (e.g. WD2) detects (at1002) a proximity detection signal transmitted by a proximate wirelessdevice (e.g. WD1), the wireless device WD2 may request assistance fromthe terrestrial wireless network 102 to determine whether the twowireless devices have a common interest before attempting to establish aD2D link.

The wireless device WD2 may send (at 1004) a discovery request to theterrestrial wireless network 102 that includes the identity of thedetected proximity detection signal. In some examples, this may involvea two-step process in which AS signalling is used to determine thewireless device behind the detected signal and NAS signalling is used toinitiate discovery of interests.

The wireless device WD2 may use AS signalling to send a proximitydetection signal resolution request to the terrestrial wireless network102; this request includes the identity of the detected proximitydetection signal. The response from the terrestrial wireless network 102includes the identity of the wireless device (WD1) to whom the detectedsignal is currently assigned.

The wireless device WD2 may then use NAS signalling to send (at 1004)the discovery request to the terrestrial wireless network 102 thatincludes the identity of the discovered wireless device (WD1).

In some examples, a wireless device may use NAS signalling, during theRegistration phase, to provide the terrestrial wireless network 102 withinformation on the handle(s) being publicized by the wireless device. Ifthe terrestrial wireless network 102 determines that informationrelating to publicized handle(s) of the wireless device WD1 is availableat the terrestrial wireless network 102, then the terrestrial wirelessnetwork 102 can proceed to task 1010 to respond to the wireless deviceWD2.

However, if the information relating to the publicized handle(s) of thewireless device is not available at the terrestrial wireless network102, the terrestrial wireless network 102 may use NAS signalling to send(at 1006) an advertisement query to the wireless device WD1, to retrievethe information regarding handle(s) publicized by the wireless deviceWD1. The handle(s) publicized by the wireless device WD1 are thenprovided (at 1008) to the terrestrial wireless network 102 in anadvertisement response.

In further examples, additional information regarding the wirelessdevice WD2 (such as its identifier or capabilities) may be included inthe message to the wireless device WD1. The additional information mayallow the wireless device WD1 to decide, for example, whether toadvertise its presence to the wireless device WD2 or to hide itsproximity from the wireless device WD2.

Information on the handle(s) publicized by the wireless device (WD1)associated with the detected proximity detection signal are provided (at1010) by the terrestrial wireless network 102 to the wireless device WD2in a discovery response.

If the wireless device WD2 determines, based on the discovery responsefrom the terrestrial wireless network 102, that the wireless device WD2shares a common interest with the wireless device WD1 may then send arequest to the terrestrial wireless network 102 for the establishment ofa D2D inter-device session.

In alternate implementations that may reduce the amount of signalling atthe expense of more processing in the terrestrial wireless network 102,assistance from the terrestrial wireless network may involve thefollowing.

The wireless device WD2 may send a conditional IDS establishment requestto the terrestrial wireless network 102 that includes the identity ofthe detected proximity detection signal and the conditions under whichthe inter-device session should be established. These conditions mayinclude the handle(s) that is (are) of interest to the wireless deviceWD2.

In some examples, a wireless device may use NAS signalling, during theRegistration phase, to provide the terrestrial wireless network 102 withinformation on the handle(s) being publicized by the wireless device. Ifthe information regarding handle(s) publicized by the wireless deviceWD1 is available at the terrestrial wireless network 102, then thewireless device 102 can proceed to send a discovery response to thewireless device WD2 (similar to 1010 in FIG. 10).

If the information regarding handle(s) publicized by the wireless deviceWD1 is not available at the terrestrial wireless network 102, theterrestrial wireless network 102 may use NAS signalling to send anadvertisement query (similar to 1006 in FIG. 10) to the wireless deviceWD1, to retrieve the information. The handle(s) publicized by thewireless device WD1 is (are) then provided to the terrestrial wirelessnetwork in an advertisement response (similar to 1008 in FIG. 10).

Unlike in FIG. 10 where the terrestrial wireless network 102 sends thehandle(s) of the wireless device WD1 to the wireless device WD2, theterrestrial wireless network 102 according to the alternativeimplementations may then attempt to match the handle(s) publicized byWD1 with the handle(s) of interest to WD2. If the terrestrial wirelessnetwork 102 determines that the wireless devices have at least onehandle of interest in common, the terrestrial wireless network 102 maythen initiate the establishment of a D2D inter-device session.Otherwise, the terrestrial wireless network 102 provides a negativeresponse to the IDS establishment request from the wireless device WD2and the inter-device session establishment process is terminated.

Interest Discovery Via D2D Link

In other implementations, rather than performing the interest discoverywith network assistance, as discussed above, interest discovery can beperformed over a D2D link. After a wireless device (e.g. WD2) detects aproximity detection signal transmitted by a proximate wireless device(e.g. WD1), the wireless device WD2 may establish a D2D link with thediscovered wireless device WD1 to determine if the wireless devices havea common interest that would warrant continuation of the D2Dinter-device session.

Interest discovery via a D2D link may involve the following exampleprocess.

The wireless device WD2 may send an IDS establishment request to theterrestrial wireless network 102 that includes the identity of thedetected proximity detection signal. Once the D2D link has beenestablished, the wireless devices WD1 and WD2 exchange information overthe D2D link to determine whether they have common interest. Thisexchange may involve the use of standard, open protocols and associatedinformation elements or it may involve the use of proprietary,application-specific protocols.

If the wireless devices WD1 and WD2 determine that they do not have areason to continue the session, one (or both) of the wireless devicesmay instruct the terrestrial wireless network 102 to terminate the D2Dinter-device session.

System Architecture

FIG. 11 depicts an example system 1100, which can be a wireless deviceor a node of the terrestrial wireless network 102, such as the wirelessaccess network node 110 or another terrestrial wireless network node.

The system 1100 includes machine-readable instructions 1102 that areexecutable on one or multiple processors 1104, to perform any of thevarious processes discussed above. A processor can include amicroprocessor, microcontroller, processor module or subsystem,programmable integrated circuit, programmable gate array, or anothercontrol or computing device.

The system 1100 further includes a network interface 1106 and a storagemedium (or storage media) 1108 coupled to the processor(s) 1104.

The storage medium (or storage media) 1108 can be implemented as one ormultiple computer-readable or machine-readable storage media. Thestorage media include different forms of memory including semiconductormemory devices such as dynamic or static random access memories (DRAMsor SRAMs), erasable and programmable read-only memories (EPROMs),electrically erasable and programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs) andflash memories; magnetic disks such as fixed, floppy and removabledisks; other magnetic media including tape; optical media such ascompact disks (CDs) or digital video disks (DVDs); or other types ofstorage devices. Note that the instructions discussed above can beprovided on one computer-readable or machine-readable storage medium, oralternatively, can be provided on multiple computer-readable ormachine-readable storage media distributed in a large system havingpossibly plural nodes. Such computer-readable or machine-readablestorage medium or media is (are) considered to be part of an article (orarticle of manufacture). An article or article of manufacture can referto any manufactured single component or multiple components. The storagemedium or media can be located either in the machine running themachine-readable instructions, or located at a remote site from whichmachine-readable instructions can be downloaded over a network forexecution.

In the foregoing description, numerous details are set forth to providean understanding of the subject disclosed herein. However,implementations may be practiced without some or all of these details.Other implementations may include modifications and variations from thedetails discussed above. It is intended that the appended claims coversuch modifications and variations.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: determining whether a firstwireless device in a wireless network is in a proximity to a secondwireless device by detecting a proximity detection signal wirelesslytransmitted by the second wireless device, wherein the proximitydetection signal includes an identifier that is a compact form of ahandle, the handle comprising information about an application of thesecond wireless device; sending, by the first wireless device to anetwork node in the wireless network, the identifier of the proximitydetection signal detected by the first wireless device; in response tothe sending of the identifier of the proximity detection signal to thenetwork node, receiving, by the first wireless device, the handleassociated with the identifier of the proximity detection signaltransmitted by the second wireless device, wherein the receiving isdirectly from the network node, and the received handle comprises theinformation about the application of the second wireless device; andtriggering, by the first wireless device, initiation of establishment ofa device-to-device (D2D) wireless link between the first wireless deviceand the second wireless device.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: communicating, by the first wireless device, data in the D2Dwireless link with the second wireless device.
 3. The method of claim 1,further comprising: receiving information relating to items advertisedby the second wireless device, the information relating to itemsadvertised by the second wireless device sent by the network node. 4.The method of claim 1, further comprising determining whether the firstwireless device shares a common interest with the second wireless devicebased on the information about the application of the second wirelessdevice.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the handle comprisesreceiving the handle in a broadcast channel configured in a radioresource between the first wireless device and the second wirelessdevice.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the proximity detection signalwirelessly transmitted by the second wireless device is in a proximitydetection resource allocated to a proximity detection resource groupfrom among plural proximity detection resource groups.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the proximity detection signal wirelessly transmittedby the second wireless device is a proximity detection beacon that issimultaneously transmitted by plural wireless devices.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: in response to determining the proximity,sending, by the first wireless device, a request to the network node;and receiving, by the first wireless device, a response from the networknode, the response being responsive to the request and includinginformation used in determining sharing of a common interest between thefirst and second wireless devices.
 9. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising terminating the D2D wireless link in response to determiningno sharing of common interest between the first and second wirelessdevices.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the establishment of the D2Dwireless link uses radio resources that are also useable by the firstwireless device to establish a wireless link with a wireless networknode of the wireless network that is connected to a core network node.11. The method of claim 10, wherein the radio resources comprise radioresources of a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, and wherein thewireless network node comprises an enhanced node B.
 12. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the handle identifies an item publicized by the secondwireless device.
 13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:providing, by the second wireless device to the network node, thehandle; and receiving, by the second wireless device, the identifier ofthe proximity detection signal from the network node.
 14. A firstwireless device comprising: at least one communication interface tocommunicate with a wireless network and a second wireless device; and atleast one processor to: determine whether the first wireless device isin a proximity to the second wireless device by detecting a proximitydetection signal wirelessly transmitted by the second wireless device,wherein the proximity detection signal includes an identifier that is acompact form of a handle, the handle comprising information about anapplication of the second wireless device; send, to a network nodewithin the wireless network, the identifier of the proximity detectionsignal detected by the first wireless device; in response to the sendingof the identifier of the proximity detection signal to the network node,receive the handle associated with the proximity detection signaltransmitted by the second wireless device, wherein the receiving isdirectly from the network node, and the received handle comprises theinformation about the application of the second wireless device; andtrigger establishment of a device-to-device (D2D) wireless link betweenthe first wireless device and the second wireless device.
 15. The firstwireless device of claim 14, wherein the establishment of the D2Dwireless link uses radio resources that are also useable by the firstwireless device to establish a wireless link with a wireless networknode of the wireless network that is connected to a core network node.16. The first wireless device of claim 14, wherein the received handleis in a broadcast channel configured in a radio resource between thefirst wireless device and the second wireless device.
 17. The firstwireless device of claim 14, wherein an allocation of radio resources isresponsive to a channel quality indication in a request to establish aninter-device session sent by the first wireless device to the wirelessnetwork, and is based on the wireless network determining based on thechannel quality indication that the first and second wireless devicesare sufficiently close for the inter-device session.
 18. The firstwireless device of claim 14, wherein the handle is provided by thesecond wireless device that received the identifier of the proximitydetection signal from the network node.
 19. A non-transitorymachine-readable medium comprising instructions that upon executioncause a first wireless device to: determine whether the first wirelessdevice in a wireless network is in a proximity to a second wirelessdevice by detecting a proximity detection signal wirelessly transmittedby the second wireless device, wherein the proximity detection signalincludes an identifier that is a compact form of a handle, the handlecomprising information about an application of the second wirelessdevice; send, to a network node within the wireless network, theidentifier of the proximity detection signal detected by the firstwireless device; in response to the sending of the identifier of theproximity detection signal to the network node, receive the handleassociated with the proximity detection signal transmitted by the secondwireless device, wherein the receiving is directly from the networknode, and the received handle comprises the information about theapplication of the second wireless device; and trigger establishment ofa device-to-device (D2D) wireless link between the first wireless deviceand the second wireless device.